Okay, so hopefully you’ve had some time to get in your garden and get your lawn looking healthy (if you’ve not, let Matt advise what you can do to get started in this video- How to get a great looking lawn)

Now, next step, here are some really simple tips you can follow to maintain and keep it looking great through the summer.

1) Stop fertilizing repeatedly. Lots of fertilizer encourages rapid grass growth making plants more vulnerable to disease and insects.

2) Always start mowing at highest setting 3 ½ to 4 inches. Taller grass is healthier and shades out weed seeds, preventing them from sprouting. It also keeps the soil cooler so it will stay moist for longer which encourages the proliferation of the soil.

3) Never apply pesticides, insecticides or fungicides. These applications kill even the healthy microbes that are beneficial to grass growth. If you observe the other steps to maintaining your lawn you shouldn’t need to add harmful chemicals to the grass.

4) Grass doesn’t need to be watered during long dry spells. Even if the blades turn brown the heart of the plant will still be healthy and can actually stay dormant for months without dying. If you do decide to water it’s best to do so for longer periods infrequently. Run the sprinkler for an hour once/ week vs more frequent short periods of time.

5) Fertilise once a year in autumn. Don’t use a high nitrogen fertiliser. High nitrogen will make your lawn turn green quickly but at the same time makes it vulnerable to drought and disease.

6) Add liquid lime to lawns to counteract the effects of acid rain. You can sprinkle liquid lime (once/ year) on your lawn to help protect it from the harmful effects of acid rain.

Tags: Gardening Tips, Lawn Care